


Country Boy

by dcharmaine



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Country AU, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-23
Updated: 2016-01-12
Packaged: 2018-04-23 00:03:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4855664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dcharmaine/pseuds/dcharmaine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She's a city girl visiting his small country town. How much could possibly happen?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Hey Pretty Girl

She was on what was supposed to be a quiet vacation. She would never in good conscience be able to leave Prada at home for a whole week, so brought the small dog with her to Texas. They were outside, taking a walk, when Prada suddenly ran away.

“No,” Lydia groaned and took off in the direction she had just seen Prada run into. When she rounded the first corner she bumped into a man, and the sudden collision caused her to fall back. Maybe she wouldn’t have been falling so easily if she had decided to wear something other than heels to take her dog for a walk.

“I gotcha,” he caught her arm to steady her. “You alright?” He smiled at the beauty staring into his eyes.

She nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks.” She looked down at the body she bumped into, and caught sight of his sweaty chest behind his partially unbuttoned shirt. He had an amazing body, she’d give him that much. She would not, however, under any circumstances show him that she noticed.

He noticed anyway and chuckled. “I’m Jordan, and I believe _he_ \--” the man paused and handed Prada to Lydia. “—belongs to you.”

Lydia accepted her spoiled dog from the handsome stranger, who she now knew as _Jordan_. “Thanks for catching him for me,” she smiled for the first time. “I’m Lydia, by the way.” Just like that, Lydia turned and walked away. She took quite a few steps away before wondering if he would actually come after her. Lydia was no stranger to making the first move, but she was genuinely curious if there was a chance her subtlety would actually make Jordan want to chase after her. Or maybe he just wasn’t as interested as she hoped he would be, but she had to know either way. Lydia rubbed Prada’s head as she slowed down. There was no way this guy would stop her. Why would he? She was only there on vacation for a week, not moving into his quiet little farm town.

“Hey, Lydia wait!” Jordan jogged to catch up with her. “You’re leaving already?” He slid his hands in his pockets. He only just met her. She couldn’t leave yet. For the life of him, Jordan could not understand why Lydia was in such a hurry to leave him behind. He thought he saw a glimpse of hope in her eyes when she turned to face him. _Maybe that’s just naturally her demeanor_ , Jordan thought

“This wasn’t exactly a stop I planned to make,” she shrugged. “I’m sure you have a lot of work to do and I don’t want to interrupt. Again.” Of course she didn’t mean it, but Lydia had to know how this charming stranger would react.

“You’re not,” he chuckled. “Why don’t you come inside? Or, you know…” Jordan rubbed the back of his neck. “Maybe I can show you around.” Lydia had encountered tons of guys interested in her. There were the obvious nervous guys (like Jordan), the nervous ones who tried to seem much more confident than they actually felt, guys who actually were confident, and then of course there were the cocky guys. Lydia hated the cocky guys, and she generally didn’t go for the ones who were as nervous on the outside as they were internally. Maybe it was entirely too easy, or maybe it just wasn’t attractive to her. She didn’t really know, but she had never been more attracted to a stranger than she was in that moment.

“So, what do you say?” Jordan’s eyes drifted from hers and then quickly found them again. He was beginning to take her silence as a definite no.

“Well, I can’t.” She decided to break the suspense. “Prada and I have to finish our walk right now…” Lydia took a step toward Jordan. “…But why don’t you take me out later? I wouldn’t want Prada causing any trouble with your animals. Dates are so much more fun at night, anyway.” Lydia laughed at the shock plastered all over his face. Jordan laughed along. He just couldn’t believe a girl like _that_ actually wanted to go out with _him_. He was shy, nervous, and incredibly sweaty from working in the sun all day. What he didn’t realize, though, was that Lydia didn’t care about any of that, not with him. She was looking forward to going out with him. Who wouldn’t?


	2. Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not

She was straightening her hair when she heard her tiny dog barking. Prada ran into the bathroom, where Lydia was, and then ran right back out. His tail had been wagging rapidly. When she followed Prada out, she found him jumping up and down at the front door of their cozy cabin. “Oh hun,” she laughed. “What are you doing?” Lydia opened the door to find Jordan standing there. “Well hello, stranger. You’re here early.” Lydia made room for him to come inside. “Hello beautiful,” he chuckled as Prada tried and failed to climb up his leg.

Lydia excused herself and went to finish getting ready. When she returned Lydia leaned back onto the wall and admired the interaction between her _baby_ and her date. Prada was urging Jordan to pet him. If he dared to stop Prada would bark and nudge Jordan with his head. “He likes you,” Lydia laughed and walked towards them. “I think that’s a good sign since he doesn’t usually take kindly to new people.”

She sat next to Jordan, who was in awe after finally taking a good look at her. “Wow,” he smiled. “You look amazing.” Lydia was wearing a blue dress and very little makeup. Lydia hadn’t come to Texas prepared to go on a date. She didn’t think she looked _amazing_ , but she was thrilled that he thought so.

“Thank you,” she smiled down at her hands briefly before making regaining eye contact with him. “So Cowboy, what are we doing tonight?”

Jordan opened his mouth to speak but debated whether to tell her, or just let it be a surprise. He decided on surprising her, but would she even like what he had planned? Jordan sure hoped so. “You’ll see.” He stood up from his position on the couch and held his hand out to help Lydia up. She accepted it, of course, though she didn’t actually need his help standing to her feet. The gesture was one she wasn’t quite accustomed to, but she liked it. They said their goodbyes to Prada, he whined because he didn’t want to be alone, and then the pair headed for the door. Jordan opened the door and allowed Lydia to exit before he did. Lydia locked the door behind them, and they continued walking as she slipped the key into her purse. When she looked back up, Jordan had the passenger’s side door opened for her. “Thanks. Again.” Lydia lowered into the car. It had been a while since she’d been on an actual date, especially with a guy so… chivalrous? Jordan was different from the guys Lydia was used to dating. Once she’d realized that, Lydia knew that agreeing to go out with Jordan was a dangerous choice. Dangerous wasn’t always bad though, right?

They’d been driving for ten minutes when Jordan stopped the car. People were everywhere. It was some kind of festival, Lydia noticed. The strawberry blonde took everything in. She didn’t know what to expect, but it certainly wasn’t _this_. Lydia saw kids running around, adolescents roaming the dirt road and having the time of their lives. There was laughter coming from every direction, so obviously everybody was having fun. Would she? “I promise it won’t be as bad as you seem to think,” Jordan laughed and removed his seatbelt. “But we can do something else if you want.” Lydia wasn’t so sure, but she went along with it anyway.

“Uh no, let’s stay.” She nodded. “New place, new experience.” That’s what she failed to convince herself of. They got out of the car and walked towards the crowd.

“Hey-ey-ey-eyy Jordan’s here!” A guy with dark hair, probably brown, yelled out before they’d gotten anywhere near good lighting. “And he brought a hot girl with him.” The man checked her out in a way of—what he thought was discretion. Really he was just one of those cocky guys Lydia hated so much. She knew it had to be true, she didn’t even need to stick around another second for confirmation of the fact. He continued to walk closer. The man took a sip of the can of coke in his hand.

“Gary.” Jordan put his hand out to the guy’s chest to distance him from Lydia, who looked annoyed by his presence.

“What? We’re just having some fun tonight.” _Gary_ laughed. “Come on, Jordan. It’s good.”

“Garrison, I’m serious,” Jordan warned. “Chill.” He moved his free hand to Lydia’s back. They walked together to the festivities. She could now hear music blaring somewhere in the distance. She didn’t know where it was coming from, but it sounded… cool. It was different from what she was used to, definitely, but it was a nice change. It wasn’t live, but recorded, most likely being played from a stereo or some kind of speaker system.

They were just about to head towards the games, where they could have a fun little competition when they were interrupted again. “Jordan, there you are!” A gorgeous woman was there when Lydia looked in her direction. She had long blonde hair, blue eyes, and a perfect smile. Just by looking at her, Lydia could tell that this girl probably would’ve been her best friend back in high school. Lydia was the most popular girl throughout her years in school. The girl in front of her seemed like she would’ve been the same. There didn’t seem to be anything wrong with her. No flaws. Except maybe walking in on Jordan with a girl she should’ve assumed he was on a date with. But of course why would he take her to the fair, where apparently everybody knew him and it was incredibly noisy due to the amount of people around?

“Listen, thanks for taking care of my ranch for me last week.” She flashed that perfect smile at him again. Lydia noticed the hand this girl rested on his arm, but he didn’t even bat an eye. Did he notice? He must’ve. “I realized I never got a chance to thank you and—“ She noticed Lydia at Jordan’s side and glanced her over. Walking a circle around Lydia and Jordan, she didn’t say a word, just tightened her lips as she examined the woman before her.

“I… don’t know you. New to town?” She didn’t give Lydia a chance to respond. “I’m Gloria, Jordan’s neighbor. Well, if you can call us neighbors. We’re not really that close together… I’m the next farm over.” Gloria laughed when she noticed she’d barely taken a breath in between sentences. “Sorry, I swear I don’t usually talk this much. It’s just—Wow you’re really pretty. Jordan, you didn’t tell me you met a girl!” She playfully hit Jordan with the same hand that was just touching his arm a moment prior. Jordan laughed.

“Uh, hi.” She glanced at Jordan briefly before holding her hand out. “I’m Lydia, and no. I’m not from around here. At all.” Lydia wasn’t sure how she felt about this place, it was hard to get a read on. What she did know was that she was in no way jealous of Gloria. The girl was awfully friendly. There was no way to miss that little fact. Besides, _Lydia_ was the one Jordan was out with.

Gloria accepted and shook Lydia’s hand. “Jordan,” she started backing away slowly. “Make sure you tell me how your date went. Promise? Bye Lydia! See you… Well… I don’t know. Hopefully before you leave? You know, or not. Bye guys.” Gloria made her escape and finally Lydia had Jordan to herself again.

“Okay, who’s the girl? Really, I gotta know JP.” A deep voice interrogated from behind them. Jordan’s head dropped.

“I’m sorry. This was a terrible idea, wasn’t it?” For the first time, Jordan hated that his town was so small. Everybody knew everybody. No way around that. Residents could spot a visitor or tourist from a mile away. One after another, people kept interrupting their date. He was sick of it, but turned around anyway. “Gary?” To be honest, Jordan didn’t particularly care for Gary. He was loud, obnoxious, and as you can see he had no boundaries.

“Seriously, Jordan? Just—How’d you find a girl like that?” Gary was checking Lydia out again. “When you’re done with my friend here,” he smirked. “You can come find me.”

Jordan’s jaw clenched and he grabbed Lydia’s hand. “Let’s go.”

Lydia didn’t protest. They just left the fair. Jordan had another idea. Finally they reached Jordan’s Chevy Malibu, and once again he opened Lydia’s door for her. She got in, he closed the door and hurried over to his seat, and they drove off. Soon they reached a familiar road. Lydia wasn’t ready to say goodnight. She hadn’t even gotten to know him at all. “Where are we going?” She continued to look out the window, but she was sure he was taking her back to the cabin. Jordan turned right instead of keeping straight. They weren’t going to the cabin.

“Do you trust me?” He smiled at her quickly before he had to direct his attention back to the road. Lydia thought about what her answer should be.

“Well…” She played with the ring on her index finger. “My dog likes you and you don’t strike me as a serial killer.” She paused, immediately wishing she hadn’t said that last part aloud. “In theory? Yes, I trust you.”

Jordan was amused by Lydia. She was unlike any of his past girlfriends. There was something different—something aside from the fact that she wasn’t actually a country girl. “Good,” he looked at her again. He kept driving until he pulled into what appeared to be a farm. They were back at Jordan’s place. Lydia had only seen it once, earlier that day when she stumbled into his chest. It didn’t look the same without any lights flashing over the ranch. Jordan removed the car key from the ignition and stepped out of the car at the same time Lydia did. It was pitch black outside, which was unusual for it only being 9 PM. Jordan walked over to Lydia and guided her through the darkness to his front door. Once they were both inside Jordan flipped a few switches and pulled a lever. Outside of the house, Lydia noticed, had suddenly been well lit. Every inch was covered with light.

“Sorry about tonight,” he removed his hat and placed it on top of his coat rack. As they headed for the couch Jordan continued. “I completely ruined it by taking you to the fair on a first date. Buuut maybe we can salvage some part of this night.”

“What? Because some idiot kept hitting on me to mess with you? Jordan, it’s fine.” Lydia laughed. “You didn’t ruin a thing.” She looked around. There was nobody around. Pure silence surrounded them. “But now that we’re alone… What do you have in mind?” Lydia wanted to give Jordan the chance to control what happened for the rest of the night. What else did he have up his sleeve?

“Hmmm,” Jordan considered their options. “Did you eat?” Lydia shook her head. “We can go grab something to eat or make something here.”

“Let’s stay here,” she traced circles into Jordan’s hand with her finger and smiled.

“Alright how about…” Jordan hesitantly jumped off the couch and went to the kitchen to search through their options. Lydia followed silently, but when she finally made it to the kitchen she and Jordan collided. Again. This time she didn’t fall, but Jordan instinctively grabbed hold of her. His hands were down on Lydia’s hips while his eyes drifted from her eyes to her lips. She began to lean in, but Jordan let her go. “You alright?” Lydia nodded and held back a laugh. She couldn’t tell if he was doing this intentionally or if it was all just coincidental. And there it was, the perfect moment to just kiss her, but he didn’t. Frankly, Lydia was shocked. Any other guy would’ve taken advantage of the opportunity.

“So,” she shifted the focus. “What are we eating?”

“Uh, right…” he smiled down at her. “We don’t have a lot of choices after all. I have a lot of pizza and lasagna.” Finally Lydia let her laugh out. “Hey, I’m a single guy who lives completely alone and is way too lazy at the end of a long day of tending to my spoiled animals to even think about cooking an actual meal.” He laughed along, realizing how ridiculous his excuse was.

“Well, Cowboy, sounds like you deserve a nice home cooked meal.” Lydia looked down at Jordan’s perfect body. She could feel his chest underneath her hands, where she had rested them during the collision. “And maybe some dessert.” She slowly slid her hands up to Jordan’s shoulders. She couldn’t see it, but Jordan was smiling. He liked seeing Lydia admire him and he didn’t want her to let go. Lydia didn’t want to, but she knew she had to eventually.

In a perfect world where they weren’t actually strangers, all Lydia would want in this moment is for Jordan to pick her up and prop her up onto the counter. Then he’d kiss her. Maybe kissing would just be kissing, or maybe it would escalate into more. But it wasn’t their reality, and that’s precisely what was so dangerous about Lydia having actual feelings for Jordan. She wanted something that could never truly be hers. What was even more dangerous about her feelings was that she still didn’t know anything about him. She could actually hate him, but Lydia wouldn’t know for sure because they hadn’t even had the chance to have a real conversation about anything.

They decided on cooking the lasagna. That way, Lydia and Jordan _could_ take the time to get to know each other. When the oven finished preheating Jordan slipped the food in and took Lydia on a stroll across his ranch. They stopped at a dock, which Lydia didn’t realize was there. Jordan liked to go there sometimes to clear his head, and now he was sharing it with her.

Lydia and Jordan spent the next hour sitting at Jordan’s lake talking about everything from goals and hobbies to fun facts to embarrassing stories. They laughed for what felt like forever. What Lydia feared would happen was now a reality. She liked Jordan. She _really_ liked the guy, but was there even a point? In a week she’d have to leave and go back to work. Lydia wouldn’t be able to simply put him out of her mind and pretend he never existed in the first place. Lydia wanted to be with Jordan for more than just a week. Now he didn’t feel like a stranger to Lydia anymore. They’d genuinely connected without even having to try.

At the end of the night after Lydia and Jordan had enjoyed their lasagna, and after they dried off from taking a swim in the lake, Jordan drove Lydia back to her cabin. They’d even held hands in the car, something they hadn’t done much of prior to going to the ranch. Jordan parked the car and got out to walk Lydia to her door. A smile remained on Lydia’s face as she thought about the progress of the date. It started out—not so great, but it ended pretty close to perfect.

“So I guess this is it,” Jordan gestured to the door behind Lydia as she tried to ignore the barking coming from the other side of it. Prada, obviously. “I had an amazing time tonight, Lydia.”

“Me too,” she responded fiddling with her key. “Maybe we can do this again sometime. Before I leave.” Lydia was suddenly quieter than she’d imagined she would be. Usually Lydia was more assertive than that—more aggressive.

“I’d like that,” Jordan smiled down at Lydia. “Uh, goodnight Lydia.” He ran a hand through his hair.

“Goodnight Jordan.”

He turned to walk away, but Lydia didn’t go inside. She just caught onto Jordan’s hand before he could get too far out of reach and said “Hey Cowboy, you forgot something.” Jordan turned around, confused. What could he have forgotten? Lydia stepped forward and kissed her date. Jordan smiled into the kiss, wrapping his arms around Lydia. When they finally pulled apart, hesitantly, Lydia whispered to him. “You didn’t really think I’d let you leave without my kiss, did you?” She laughed. “Night, Cowboy.” Lydia turned away, unlocked the door, and walked inside, leaving Jordan there smiling on the porch.

Now it was perfect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you haven't noticed, I'm naming chapters after my favorite country songs lol


	3. She's Got This Thing About Her.

Jordan woke up smiling, thinking about his time with Lydia over the last couple of days. If he was being honest, he didn’t expect that it would go so well. He thought that maybe she’d realize she was wasting her time with him, but the fact that she didn’t feel that way was amazing. Jordan knew that Lydia would be going back home soon, but he didn’t care. All he wanted was to spend as much time with her as he possibly could. Lydia was different, special in a way he couldn’t quite figure out or understand. He’d only known her for four days! How could he already tell she would be so important to him? The two spent most of their time either in Lydia’s cabin, or Jordan taking her to his favorite spots in and out of town.

It was later than he usually started working on the ranch, so Jordan rolled out of bed and got ready for the day. He’d been outside for hours, and was just beginning to sweat through his shirt. He rubbed his forehead and went into the stables. Jordan freed his horses, letting them roam around within the perimeter of the fencing. One by one, he began grooming each horse. He saved his favorite for last. “Hey bud,” he smiled brushing Kingston’s body with a soft brush. “Did you miss me this morning? I know I missed you.” Kingston neighed and picked his front legs up. “Easy, easy.” Jordan rubbed his hand down Kingston’s side. Kingston dropped his legs back onto the ground.

“Hey Cowboy!” Jordan turned around when he heard Lydia’s voice. He waved with a smile and walked to meet her. Lydia climbed over the fence and ran to Jordan. Jordan began running toward her too, but Kingston followed and got to Lydia before Jordan did. “Well hello to you too, handsome.” Lydia reached up, rubbing Kingston’s back.

“Lydia,” Jordan laughed when he finally caught up. “What are you doing here?”

“Believe it or not, I was in the neighborhood.” She shrugged her shoulder. Of course she was in the neighborhood. The town was too small for it to be any other way. “Or… I just wanted to stop by and see you in your natural—habitat. Away from gorgeous girls and annoying guys who might want to interrupt.” She was thinking of the fair from her first day In town. Wherever they went, though, it seemed everybody wanted to steal some of Jordan’s attention from Lydia.

“And what does Lydia want to see now that she’s here?” Jordan grabbed her hand and guided her to the shady gazebo just a few feet away. They sat down and Kingston attempted to follow them, but he couldn’t even get his head inside.

“Hmmm,” Lydia thought about it. “Well, it would be a shame if Lydia didn’t ride a horse once while she was here.” She looked up at Jordan. “You up for a ride later?”

“I think that can be arranged,” he nodded. “But uh,” Jordan chuckled as he held the back of his neck. “It might take some persuasion first.”

“How much _persuasion_ are we talking?” Lydia knew exactly what Jordan wanted, but she wanted to make him wait for it or beg, whichever came first.

“Oh, you know… Just a little bit.”

“A little, huh?” Lydia pecked Jordan’s cheek and giggled. “Such a tough price to pay.”

“I think we can do a little bit better than that. Don’t you?” Jordan's eyes were found Lydia's freshly glossed lips. She paused wondering if she should give him what they both wanted, or if she wanted to keep messing with him. Naturally, she chose the latter. Lydia scooted in closer, now facing Jordan. It took everything in Jordan not to move in on her. He needed her to be the one to make that move. Lydia rested her hand on Jordan's chest and she could feel his fast heartbeat. Her hand slowly traveled up and behind his neck. She glanced up at him. The look in his eyes she'd seen many times before. Jordan craved her touch, the taste of her lips. But there was something else she didn't recognize at first glance. Jordan sincerely wanted her. Not because she was beautiful on the outside, but something about her drew him in and he didn’t plan on letting go of it just yet. He couldn't tell you how or why, but all he knew was he wanted to spend as much time as she would allow him to figure it out. Lydia slowly moved her face closer to Jordan’s, let her lips brush his, but still didn't kiss him. "A little more," he whispered.

“Yeah, I don’t know, Jordan." She backed away and Jordan chuckled. He should've known better than to think it would be easy. "You keep saying 'a little,' but I thought for sure you’d kick the price up a bit.” Lydia lifted Jordan's black cowboy hat off his head and put it on hers with one hand. "How do I look?"

Jordan rotated his hat slightly to the right to straighten it. "Perfect."

"Good. Come on!" Lydia patted Jordan's leg. "Time to ride." She grabbed his hand and guided Jordan to his scattered horses. Out of what seemed like nowhere, Kingston appeared next to Lydia and nudged her shoulder.

"He likes you," Jordan was smiling. "Maybe even more than he likes me. Maybe."

"Yeah, well, I like him too."

"He's all yours today." While Jordan gathered the other horses and led all but one back into the stable, Lydia found a saddle and prepared Kingston for the ride. There Jordan was thinking he'd teach the city girl how to ride his favorite horse, and he returned to see Lydia already on top of Kingston and riding in circles. "You're a natural."

"Obviously," she smirked. "But to be fair, I've done this tons of times before. My mom and I used to ride together when I was a teenager. But it's been a while since then." Lydia had forgotten how much she missed having a horse of her own. Natalie Martin bought herself and Lydia each a horse. They kept them at a stable three hours from Lydia's childhood home, but when Lydia left for college her mother didn't see any point in keeping the horses. Nobody was riding them, and Natalie knew selling them to someone who could give them the love they deserved would be best in the long run.

"Where to?" Jordan hopped onto his own horse.

"Surprise me." Lydia followed as Jordan took off. They'd been riding 15 minutes before Jordan and Lydia slowed to stop. "Is this it?"

"Yep." It wasn't anything spectacular. They were in an empty space just outside of the woods. They had the view of a waterfall, at least. "It's not much," Jordan climbed off of Tucker and went to lend Lydia a hand as she left Kingston. "But I come here sometimes. To think. Or just... get away for a while. Kingston always likes it here." Jordan gestured to the big brown horse roaming alongside the water.

"I've got you and me." Lydia pulled Jordan underneath a tree and they sat there on the ground. "What else do we really need right now?" The answer? Nothing. Lydia was perfectly content where they were simply because she truly had Jordan all to herself. Nobody else knew where they were, and that was good enough for Lydia.

"More time would be nice." Jordan wrapped his arm around Lydia and she moved as close to him as she comfortably could. As much as he tried not to think about it, Jordan knew that as soon as Lydia went back home he was going to miss her again. They only had a couple of days left to make the most of Lydia's time in his small town. Lydia's law firm contacted her. There was an urgent meeting she, as the face of Martin & Co., could not miss.

"We've had fun." Lydia smiled. "This was supposed to be a relaxing trip to spend alone with Prada." She never meant to meet a guy she could potentially like. More importantly, Lydia didn't think she'd dread having to leave Jordan behind when she did leave. How could she like him so much already? Lydia hadn't even been there for a week yet. "Silly dog just had to go find a new friend."

"Lucky friend." Jordan rubbed his thumb up Lydia’s arm and then back down.

Lydia detected a hint of sadness in Jordan's response. "You're going to be fine when I leave." She looked up at him. "Give it a few weeks and you'll forget all of this. I'll be...just a vague memory. And you'll move on with your life as if--" _As if he never cared about her._

"You don't actually believe that."

"I have to, Jordan." It was the only way she could talk herself into leaving him so soon. For her own sake, and for her company's, she had to tell herself the time she was spending with Jordan was all just for fun. It couldn't mean what she knew it meant. It couldn't mean that Lydia had finally found someone she could actually trust enough to give her heart to. Jordan Parrish could _not_ do that to her. She needed to focus on real life--the one she'd spent her whole life planning for herself and turning into her reality. She was leaving whether she liked it or not.

The remainder of their time sitting there was mostly silent. This time, it wasn't as comfortable as it was before. They were both contemplating what to do next. Lydia was thinking about throwing in the towel, cutting her losses with Jordan. That way, she figured, it wouldn't hurt him as much later when she had to leave and never decide to visit again. Jordan maintained the ideal that if they just ignored their reality for the time being it would be okay. He knew it wouldn't be, but he had to try it out. There was small talk every once in a while, but it never lasted. Jordan could sense the fun they had coming to an end. They agreed to just leave, so they stood up and Jordan began walking away.

Lydia couldn't let it end like that. She grabbed his arm and pulled him back to her. "Just... Wait."  Lydia needed to think. What was her next move? What could she say to make this better? Would it be? Jordan edged closer to Lydia, making her back away with her unclear train of thought. Her back touched the tree they were just sitting underneath. There was nowhere left to go. Jordan left a gap between them. His left hand rested above her head on a branch, the other held her face. She had to decide for herself. Did she really want to end it so soon? They both remained still. Jordan wanted to know what Lydia would decide to do. “Forget it,” she groaned. Lydia smashed her lips to Jordan’s for the first time that day. While Lydia wrapped her hands around Jordan’s neck, his found and gripped Lydia’s waist. Obviously they were never _really_ going to be able to stay away from one another while Lydia was still in town. They would miss being together too much. “A little indulgence won’t kill me,” Lydia whispered when she pulled away. And so she decided to risk growing more attached to Jordan. If she didn’t, Lydia would only regret it in the end.


End file.
